Magic Broadcasting has entered into a consent decree and accepted a $125,000 penalty from the FCC to resolve inquiries into tower issues in Tallahassee and contest violations by CHR “Island 106” 105.9 WILN Panama City FL.
Magic was found to violate multiple tower violations. The company failed to conduct the required daily inspection of an antenna structure’s lighting system, failed to notify the Federal Aviation Administration of a lighting failure, and failed to notify the FCC that is had acquired the antenna structure utilized by Conservative Talk “Real Talk 99.3” WVFT Gretna/Tallahassee.
The company was also found in violation by failing to conduct two broadcast contests in a manner substantially as announced by pre-selecting the winners in those contests and failing to disclose that programming broadcast over the Station during a supposedly live call-in contest was pre-recorded. The FCC received complaints in September and October 2018 for its “Troll Tracker” and “Alexa Almighty” contests alleging that “station personnel recorded fake telephone calls with individuals posing as contest participants and aired the previously recorded programming during the voice-tracked afternoon show”.
Following an inquiry into the contest Magic stated that it “could not confim nor deny the veracity of the allegations made in the IHD Complaints and maintains that it has no information “in its possession, custody, control, or knowledge” indicating that the Station broadcast the pre-recorded programming identified in the complaints.” The FCC notes that “Magic Broadcasting has not provided any evidence to rebut the accounts given by the complainant, whose credibility the Bureau has no independent reason to doubt or question. Significantly, Magic Broadcasting acknowledges that it is “unable to ascertain” whether the complaints are in any way materially inaccurate, incomplete, or otherwise erroneous.”
The full decree can be read here.